Planned Job Cuts Highest Since March

Chicago, IL, Dec. 1, 2010 -- The pace of downsizing surged to its highest level in eight months, as employers announced plans to reduce payrolls by 48,711 jobs in November, according to the report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

November job cuts were 28% higher than the 37,986 planned layoffs reported in October. It was the highest job-cut total since March, when employers announced plans to cut 67,611.

Despite the increase, job cuts this year are still well below last year’s levels. Last month’s total was 3.3% lower than the 50,349 job cuts announced in November 2009. Overall, employers announced 497,969 job cuts from January through November, a 60% decline from the 1,242,936 layoffs in the same period a year ago.